Dept. of Health and Human Services

ODEP and MCHB released a joint letter emphasizing the importance of health care transition for youth with chronic health conditions and disabilities and highlights opportunities to integrate health care transition and career planning through the Affordable Care Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

This page provides a continually-updated list of tools, guides, and resources to assist teachers, school staff, youth, parents, and youth-serving organizations in caring for and supporting children who have an incarcerated parent. Stay tuned to this page for additional new resources as they become available.

For Parents and Caregivers

Guide for Incarcerated Parents Who Have Children in the Child Welfare System (PDF, 34 pages)
The purpose of this guide is to help parents involved in the criminal justice system work with the child welfare system to stay in touch with their children and stay involved in decisions about their children’s well-being. The guide also includes important information on steps required by the child welfare system for reunification, or having children return home to their family after foster care. Child welfare and social work professionals may also benefit from this guide to inform work with incarcerated parents, their children, and the caregivers.

Tip Sheet for Incarcerated Parents: Planning for a Visit from Your Child/Children
Visitation can be an important and meaningful experience for incarcerated parents and their children, but it can also be a source of stress and anxiety when parents’ or children’s expectations do not align with what ends up happening. Many aspects of visitation are outside of the control of an incarcerated parent, but there are things you can do to anticipate problems and reduce stress to make visitation a positive and beneficial experience for everyone involved. Included in the tip sheet are things to consider when planning for a visit from your child.

Sesame Street Resources
Sesame Workshop's initiative — Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration — provides much-needed bilingual (English/Spanish) multimedia tools for families with young children (ages 3-8) who have an incarcerated parent. These FREE resources include a resource kit with A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, a Children's Storybook, and a new Sesame Street video; an Incarcerated Parent Tip Sheet; and the Sesame Street: Incarceration mobile app for smart phones and tablets.

Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents: Trauma Prevention Policy (PDF, 38 pages)
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, created a policy that reflects input from subject-matter experts and stakeholders, providing strategies for law enforcement to improve their procedures for interactions with children when a parent is arrested.

Tip Sheet for Prison/Jail Staff and Volunteers: Supporting Children Who Have an Incarcerated Parent
Prison and jail staff and volunteers play an important role in facilitating visits and helping make visits a positive experience for children with incarcerated parents. Visits from family members can help promote strong family ties and have been shown to decrease recidivism. For children, visits are an important way to maintain the relationship with their incarcerated parent, which can have important implications on a child’s behavior and mental health. Staff and volunteers are the first and last individuals that children see in the facility; their support of family visits can set an important tone that parent-child relationships are valued and important.

Training Key 1 — Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents: An Overview (PDF, 6 pages)
Part I of this two-part Training Key® on children of arrested parents from the International Association of Chiefs of Police focuses on providing an overview of the topic, defining key terms used in the discussion, and outlining the legal obligations that govern the actions of officers when confronted with these situations.

Video Visiting in Corrections: Benefits, Limitations, and Implementing Considerations
This guide from the National Institute of Corrections can help inform administrators working in correctional settings about the benefits and challenges of using “video visiting,” in which incarcerated individuals communicate with family members via video conferencing technology or virtual software programs. The guide includes three chapters that address: (1) reasons to consider video visiting; (2) implementation considerations; and (3) evaluation of a video visiting program.

Webinar: Collaborating with Community Partners to Safeguard Children of Arrested Parents
Webinar panelists highlighted strategies for law enforcement to collaborate with child welfare services and other community partners to ensure the best outcomes for children of arrested parents. The webinar was hosted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

Webinar: Developing a Policy to Protect Children of Arrested Parents
Webinar panelists represented the San Francisco Police Department, the San Francisco Office of Citizen Complaints, the San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, and Project WHAT! Webinar panelists provided guidance on the planning and implementation process of a police departmental policy to protect children at the time of parental arrest. Resources were provided to assist law enforcement agencies in developing and implementing relevant policies in their agency. The webinar was hosted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

Webinar: Preparing to Launch: Q & A on Implementing Parental Arrest Policies to Safeguard Children
During this webinar, the Albany, New York, Chief of Police shared his experience in developing and implementing a parental arrest policy in a mid-sized police department. Attendees had the opportunity to ask panelists, representing the areas of law enforcement, child psychology, and community partners, questions regarding law enforcement agency parental arrest policies and procedures. Resources were provided to assist law enforcement agencies in developing and implementing a policy in their agency. The webinar was hosted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

Webinar: Protecting Children of Arrested Parents: Using a Trauma-Informed Approach
This presentation provided an in-depth look at the traumatic effects of parental arrest on children, and provided best practice recommendations and strategies for law enforcement to prevent or mitigate trauma to children during and after the arrest of a parent. The webinar was hosted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

Webinar: Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents during Investigative and Tactical Operations
Panelists discussed the potential risks to children of arrested parents during tactical and investigative operations, and provided strategies and best practice recommendations for law enforcement to mitigate these risks. Resources were provided to assist law enforcement agencies in developing and implementing a policy to safeguard children during these operations. The webinar was hosted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

For School Administration, Teachers, and Staff

NEW! Supporting Youth with Incarcerated Parents: For School Staff
This video and discussion guide are designed for school staff who provide direct supports and services to students: teachers, administrators, and support staff (e.g., school social worker, psychologist, guidance counselor, librarian, art teacher, PE teacher, cafeteria worker, custodian, bus driver). School staff contributed to the planning and content and several are featured in the video.

Tip Sheet for Teachers (Pre-K through 12): Supporting Children Who Have an Incarcerated Parent
School staff make a difference in the lives of all children, including children of incarcerated parents. For the child with a parent in prison, a safe and supportive school can provide a caring, stable setting offering opportunities for educational, social, and emotional development. The bonds and relationships fostered at school with peers and trusted adults play a vital role in the child’s short and long term learning and maturation. This tip sheet describes five things to know about children who have an incarcerated parent and how teachers can contribute to positive outcomes for children who have an incarcerated parent.

Webinar: Educators are Critical Partners in Making A Difference in the Lives of Children of Incarcerated Parents
On September 24, 2015, the Federal Interagency Reentry Council (FIRC) Subcommittee on Children of Incarcerated Parents and the American Institutes for Research hosted the webinar, Educators are Critical Partners in Making A Difference in the Lives of Children of Incarcerated Parents. This presentation and Q&A session provided the audience with statistics on the prevalence of children with incarcerated parents, practical tips for addressing the needs of these children and youth, and how to use collaboration, focused assistance, and advocacy to contribute to positive outcomes for children who have an incarcerated parent. Presenters included nationally-recognized experts, educators who are currently addressing the needs of children of incarcerated parents, and a youth whose parent is incarcerated.

For Child Welfare/Social Work and Clinical Professionals

NEW! Supporting Youth with Incarcerated Parents: For Social Workers
This video and discussion guide are designed for social workers who may come in contact with children of incarcerated parents. They are intended for the larger world of social work, including those who work in clinical settings, community and faith based organizations, schools, child welfare, juvenile justice, adult corrections, etc. Professional social workers contributed to the planning and content and several are featured in the video.

Child Welfare Practice With Families Affected by Parental Incarceration
This Bulletin for Professionals provides an overview of the intersection of child welfare and parental incarceration; highlights practices to facilitate parent-child visits during incarceration, include parents in case planning, and work toward reunification; and points to resources to help caseworkers in their practice with these children and families. The bulletin is available in HTML and PDF on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act: Barriers to Reunification between Children and Incarcerated Parents
This information packet, developed by the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections and featured on the Children's Bureau website, addresses how certain provisions of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) create barriers to reunification for incarcerated mothers. The packet also includes information about amendments that some states have made to ASFA to address these issues, best practice tips for working with children of incarcerated parents, and other related resources.

A Toolkit for Working With Children of Incarcerated Parents
Created jointly by the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) within the State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Health and Recovery Services Administration and DSHS' Office of Planning, Performance and Accountability, and featured on the Children's Bureau website, this web-based training toolkit provides practitioners with the skills required to respond to the needs of children of parents who are in prison or have an incarceration history.

When a Parent is Incarcerated
Developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and featured on the Children's Bureau's website, this guide provides information to public child welfare agencies and caseworkers on working with incarcerated parents and their children. Goals of the primer include familiarizing child welfare professionals with the impact of incarceration and providing information to child welfare and correctional systems to help improve permanency outcomes for children.

Children of Incarcerated Parents – Fact Sheet (PDF, 4 pages)
An interagency group that includes the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Agriculture as well as the Social Security Administration has partnered with stakeholders both inside and outside of government to identify opportunities to support these children and their caregivers. This fact sheet describes the efforts of the interagency group.

Children of Incarcerated Parents Framing Paper (PDF, 8 pages)
The purpose of this paper is to raise public awareness, and the awareness of service providers about these unique challenges and provide strategies to individuals who interface with this population, including parents, teachers, and social service providers on how to enhance these children's social and emotional well-being.

Children of Incarcerated Parents Myth Busters (PDF, 6 pages)
The Reentry Myth Buster/Children of Incarcerated Parents Series is a series of fact sheets intended to clarify federal policies that affect formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. This series is designed to help these children, their caregivers, and the service providers who work with them.

Effects of Parental Incarceration on Young Children
As part of their project, From Prison to Home: The Effects of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families and Communities, The Department of Health and Human Services funded a comprehensive brief, Effects of Parental Incarceration on Young Children that addresses the reactions of chldren with incarcerated parents, as well as: ways of modifying those effects, programs that can help both the parent and the child, how to adopt a whole family approach and why this discussion should inform research and policy issues.

Mentoring for Children of Incarcerated Parents
This review developed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s National Mentoring Resource Center examines research on mentoring for children of incarcerated parents and includes insights and recommendations for practice based on currently available knowledge.

Parental Incarceration and Child Wellbeing: An Annotated Bibliography (PDF, 17 pages)
This annotated bibliography focuses on quantitative research on the consequences of paternal and maternal incarceration for children that (1) attempts to control for selection using standard statistical techniques, (2) uses broadly representative data, and (3) differentiates consequences of paternal incarceration from consequences of maternal incarceration. Although this bibliography focuses primarily on research in the United States, a small number of studies using data from European countries are also included (and many additional studies in that vein are also included in the further readings section so that interested readers will be able to read more in this area).

Tip Sheet for Mentors: Supporting Children Who Have an Incarcerated Parent
Mentors can play an important role in addressing the needs of children of incarcerated parents. Mentors are caring adults who work with youth as positive role models in a formal or informal way, offering consistent guidance and support. Youth connect with mentors through youth-serving organizations, including community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, businesses, and after-school programs. Mentors can help improve outcomes for the children of incarcerated parents by using research-based practices and effective supports.

In the first of a new video series from the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth (NFCY) that asks youth workers to discuss the impact they have had on the lives of youth, Linda Mascarenas of Family and Youth Services in Stockton, CA, talks about a teen mother who became a paid employee of her youth program.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control convened a panel of experts in the fields of youth development, violence prevention, and analytic methods to discuss protective influences against youth violence and how these can shape prevention efforts. Work from this panel is featured in a special supplement of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine titled, “Protective Factors for Youth Violence Perpetration Issues, Evidence, and Public Health Implications."

This podcast from the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth features Forrest Vest, a formerly homeless youth, discussing how he is working with a family friend to start a new foundation and how youth can be powerful advocates for change.

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